The Political Economy of Incompetence. How Hannah Arendt predicted Stephen Moore

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Paul Krugman
The Political Economy of Incompetence. How Hannah Arendt predicted Stephen Moore

PAUL KRUGMAN
AUG 11, 2025



On August 1 Donald Trump fired the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics after a weak jobs report, claiming — without a shred of evidence — that the numbers had been rigged to damage him politically. On Thursday he held a White House briefing, together with economist Stephen Moore, in an attempt to convince the media and the public that the economy is actually doing great. The photo above is a scene from that briefing.

What’s wrong with this picture?

First, look at the chart. The second line claims that it shows “medium income” — a term unknown to economics. Clearly it was supposed to say median income.

OK, speling misteaks hapen. But not, usually, in charts prepared for a presentation by the President of the United States.

Beyond that, Jared Bernstein, who has looked at the data Moore presented in that chart and others, says that the numbers appear to be all wrong. Which is no surprise given the source.

{snip}

[The Wizard]

1. What institution bestowed

and economics degree on Moore? If any institution granted him an economics degree they owe him a full refund. I have no recollection of Moore stating any verifiable facts about economics.
I do recall seeing him on Bill Mahar's Real Time seemingly torqued up on meth.

[Walleye]

2. "Medium income", bragging about their ignorance and illiteracy?

Or is this their stupid way of lying?

[Silent Type]

3. So, if we make in through 43 months of this A-hole and his henchmen, we'll all be rich.